Is Kickstarter Right for Your Business? A Workshop for Women Entrepreneurs

Join the WE-CAN community of women entrepreneurs to hear the story of a successful, women-led, Kingston-based Kickstarter campaign.

If you're looking for an alternate form of funding for your business, and the concept of crowdfunding intrigues you, then this workshop is for you!

In 2021, BinoBooks of Kingston launched a Kickstarter campaign  with a goal of $5,000 to raise money to grow its business.

Led by four women entrepreneurs, BinoBooks creates stories that act as conversation starters on complex, but important topics- including COVID-19, gender expression, body image, and more. Their mission is to engage children in content where they can see themselves in the stories, while better understanding the world around them.

In this 90-minute presentation, the BinoBooks team will share their own experience with Kickstarter and why they chose the crowdfunding route.

They’ll also discuss the difference between crowdfunding platforms and why they ultimately decided to go with Kickstarter.

The presentation will include an overview of BinoBooks’ successful Kickstarter campaign and discuss what the team would have changed and what they would do the same if they run another campaign in the future.

The session will wrap up with a Q&A session.

 

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:

Jess Dassanayake is the Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at BinoBooks. She is responsible for all things tech with a primary focus on BinoBooks’ book customization software. Jess brings a unique set of experiences to the team as a recent Bachelor of Computing graduate and Master of Education candidate at Queen’s University. She was inspired to start BinoBooks after seeing the lack of representation in her godson Skyler’s storybooks. Jess is passionate about inclusive design and accessible education. In her spare time, you can find her working on an art project and playing Animal Crossing.

Sydney Terry is the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at BinoBooks. Sydney oversees social media marketing and outreach. A recent graduate of Queen’s University, Sydney has a dual Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Environmental Science, and currently works as a women’s centre counsellor. Inspired by her days as a summer camp counsellor and noticing a lack of diverse educational tools, Sydney knows BinoBooks will fill this gap.

 

ABOUT THE WE-CAN PROJECT:

The WE-CAN Project is led by Queen’s University and supported by the Government of Canada. Its mission is to inspire and empower existing and aspiring women entrepreneurs by providing them with tools, resources, expert mentors, networks and community building to expand existing businesses and to launch new ventures.

The Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES) Ecosystem Fund is providing $3.2 million for Queen’s University to design and deliver programs and services to accelerate, train, mentor and provide resources to women entrepreneurs and women-led companies in the community.

The focus of the WES strategy is to provide support to women entrepreneurs from diverse and underrepresented groups.